St Paul's Wilford Hill Parish Profile 2019
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St Paul’s Wilford Hill Parish Profile 2019 1 Contact Information St Paul's Church, Boundary Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7DB The Church Office is normally open Monday and Wednesday 10:30 am to 12:45pm Telephone 0115 9452019. http://www.stpauls-boundaryroad.org.uk/ https://en-gb.facebook.com/St-Pauls-Boundary-Road-1549685391979420 E Mail: [email protected] © St Paul's, The Church of the Parish of Wilford Hill St Paul's charity number: 1133058 2 Contents 1. Diocesan Foreword 4 2. Deanery Foreword 5 3. St. Pauls Boundary Road 3.1. St Paul’s in a nutshell 6 3.2. The Parish Profile 6 4. Where are we now? 4.1. Worship 8 4.2. Wider 10 4.3. Younger 11 4.4. Deeper 14 4.5. Six stories from our congregation 15 5. Are you the person to lead us? - and we can offer… 16 6. Person specification 17 7. St Paul’s - How it works 7.1. PCC 18 7.2. Communications 18 7.3. The Leadership Team 18 7.4. The Church Office 18 7.5. Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals 18 8. Vicarage 19 9. Our Church, Premises and Community 19 10. Appendix 10.1. Accounts 22 10.2. Statistical information 26 Details of St Paul’s, its activities and points of contact are available on the Church website at: http://www.stpauls-boundaryroad.org.uk/ 3 The Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham GROWING DISCIPLES WIDER, YOUNGER AND DEEPER A statement from the Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham, the Rt Revd Paul Williams and the Associate Archdeacon for Transition Ministry, Revd Canon Phil Williams The Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham incorporates the City of Nottingham, the whole County of Nottinghamshire and five parishes in South Yorkshire. The population is 1.15 million – 51% live in the greater Nottingham conurbation, 31% in ex-mining areas and 18% in rural. There are 305 churches (252 parishes), served by 142 stipendiary clergy and licensed lay workers. In 2016 a refreshed diocesan vision was embraced across the diocese, recognising the imperative for ‘Growing Disciples: wider, younger, deeper’. • ‘Wider’ in that we will seek to grow disciples in every part of the diocese, with no retreat from any community: urban centre; outer estates; rural villages; or market towns. • ‘Younger’ in that we will seek fresh ways to harness the boldness and creativity of children, students and young people across the diocese, not least in Nottingham which is the 4th youngest city outside London. • ‘Deeper’ as we grow in knowing Christ, so that as his disciples we can be an increasing blessing to the people among whom we live and serve in the workplace, family and community. The Bishop’s Senior Staff, Bishop’s Council and Diocesan Synod have demonstrated their clear commitment to sharing in all aspects of this vision and strategy. In autumn 2016 more than 1 000 PCC members attended 5 vision evenings around the diocese. We have discerned a series of emerging priorities that will facilitate growing new disciples in every parish across the diocese. Compelled by the love of Christ by 2023 we will seek to: • Welcome 7000 new disciples into the fellowship of Christ and his church • Commission 1000 younger leaders (especially 15-30 year olds) equipped and inspired to serve the purposes of God in the Church and society. • Plant or graft 75 New Worshipping Communities (NWCs) across the diocese to increase our reach in telling the story of Jesus to all. • Grow 25 larger Resource Churches with clear commitment to develop leaders, plant New Worshipping Communities, and disciple the young. • Serve and pray together as 1 Church contending for the gospel in every community and sphere of public life in our city, county and region. In this new chapter every parish has an opportunity to review its role within the diocesan mission, so that it can play a significant part in the strategic commitment to ‘Growing Disciples: wider, younger and deeper.’ St Paul’s Wilford Hill is an excellent opportunity for a strategic and inspiring priest to build on strong spiritual foundations with a people eager for significant growth. There is a strong committed and supportive lay leadership in place who will work closely with the Vicar at this significant moment in their journey with God. Bishop Paul has said: “It is my hope that each worshipping community will develop a compelling picture of its own future in God’s purposes with an expectation of growing numerically and in the scope of its mission. It is my prayer that the new vicar will have the creative leadership and imagination to develop discipleship, plan for growth and reach out to the unchurched of all ages in its locality.” February 2019 4 2. West Bingham Deanery The West Bingham Deanery is made up of 23 parishes situated to the south of Nottingham. They comprise a range of diverse contexts including the suburban areas of West Bridgford to the north, the urban development of Clifton and village of Ruddington across the centre and the more rural villages around Gotham and East Leake to the south. This is a great time to be joining the Deanery as we discern how we can work together more effectively to grow disciples “Wider, younger and deeper”. The Vicar of Wilford Hill will work particularly closely with the neighbouring parishes in West Bridgford and a vibrant and supportive ecumenical community. Deanery Synod meets at least three times a year to focus on a different aspect of our Diocesan Vision. These are opportunities to learn from each other, to share resources and ideas, to be encouraged by what God is already doing amongst us and dare to pray for new growth. Clergy meet as chapter on a regular basis for mutual support, prayer and friendship. In the coming years in our Deanery we want to see:- • A deepening heart for prayer seeking God’s kingdom and God’s will to be done across all our parishes. • A few churches growing in generosity as ‘resource churches’ prepared to serve and support other churches across the Deanery and beyond. • A number of ‘new worshipping communities’ established within the Deanery that serve groups and networks of people that we are not currently engaging with. This includes establishing an effective outreach to areas of new housing. • Every parish working in collaboration with at least one other parish in a way that benefits and challenges all parties. • A growth in lay ministry across the Deanery with a particular focus on encouraging younger leaders. We would love the new vicar to share something of this shared vision for the Deanery as well as working with the current team to build on the great foundations of mission and ministry in the parish of Wilford Hill. Mark Fraser Area Dean. 5 3. St Paul’s Boundary Road 3.1 St Paul’s in a Nutshell. St Paul’s is a welcoming community of different ages and backgrounds, seeking to understand what it means to be disciples of Christ. We grow together through our gathered worship, small groups, and a variety of other activities whilst seeking to serve the needs and aspirations of our local community. We have had two vicars since 1987 with contrasting styles and their influence is infused in the St Paul’s we are today. We see their impact reflected across our congregation in our mix of reflection and deep spirituality, plus energetic networking and relationship building, with an emphasis on social justice. We have seen significant growth in attendance between 2011-2014, with a slight decline since. In 2017 there were 11 adult confirmations from individuals in our congregation who had become established but not confirmed. (The service was held at St Paul’s.) We have an active small group structure with around 60 people in life groups (Bible study or prayer) and a similar number across our welcome groups. http://www.stpauls-boundaryroad.org.uk/regular-activities/small-groups/ We are an intergenerational Church, welcoming diversity and the breadth of many traditions. 3.2 This Parish Profile. The profile combines the output from two “consultations”. A group of volunteers, led by the Lay Chair of PCC, consulted widely within the congregation, including with children and young people, who were asked to respond to three questions: • What keeps you coming to St Paul's? What (if anything) “Discussing the profile is a barrier? questions is a tremendous opportunity to listen to God • Where do you see our growth in the future? and the congregation and • What qualities are we looking for in a new leader? move forward” The response from the congregation young and old was fantastic, and we have used their insights, views and comments to inform this profile, which we hope will show you where we are now and where we seek help, guidance and leadership to grow as a church. Over three sessions, PCC consulted with the Associate Archdeacon for Transition Ministry 6 http://southwell.anglican.org/new-diocesan-appointment-support-parishes/ to understand our wider position in the community, teasing out what matters to us. Through this we identified a number of gaps and questions we need to answer with the help of our new vicar. Is that you? We are looking for someone who feels called to ministry in our parish and who will help us grow in size and depth as a worshipping community, embracing the diocesan vision of "Growing Disciples: Wider, Younger, Deeper." A summary of Wider, Younger, Deeper: where we are and where we need leadership. Where we are today Where we feel we need help and leadership to develop We have some engagement with our local Our congregation does not reflect the profile of our community through use of our premises parish, which is full of busy working families with and social events.